Photography by Susan Jackson
Sally Hershberger before she created the famous “Meg Ryan shag.” Spanish wines six years ago. The Williamsburg neighborhood in Brooklyn. And that trendy restaurant on the corner—the one that now takes reservations weeks in advance. It’s not always easy to dig up the whos and whats of tomorrow’s hot list before they’re so hot they’re out of your price—or patience—range.
While we won’t reveal our stylist’s number, we can tip you off to some emerging talent in the design field: men and women who aren’t household names but are at the top of their game. Some have traditional design degrees; others studied architecture or art history. All have the qualities you’ll find in the best designers: an artist’s eye for color and texture, a willingness to experiment and a vision that’s all their own—a way of pulling things together that is instantly identifiable, like the paintings of Picasso, the symphonies of Mozart or the bedheads of Hershberger.
Jill Bolzenius, ASID
Ellen Kurtz Interiors
314-567-4530, accessoriesbyappointment.com
Jill Bolzenius was born on a farm in Beaufort, Mo. After receiving her degree in environmental design from Mizzou and working with a commercial design firm in Columbia for three years, she eased into an interior design job with Ellen Kurtz. Ms. Bolzenius is known for her edge, smarts and creativity: big, uncluttered rooms, random pops of bold color, gigantic mirrors, oversized photos and solid-color sofas.
Influences: Architects Frank Lloyd Wright, Frank Gehry and Le Corbusier, because, she says, “I love clean, simple architectural lines.”
Dream project: To preserve an old plantation in either Louisiana or Georgia. “It would be lavish and historically accurate. I’d use lush fabrics, great chandeliers and gold leafing.”
Favorite project: A 25,000-square-foot home in Effingham, Ill. “We are updating everything in the house, which is transitional with a contemporary flair. The twin girls’ bedroom is done in green, white and pink. It’s an Alice in Wonderland experience. We built a stage in the room, surrounded by a faux Venetian stone castle.”
Colleen Ertl, Allied Member ASID
Diane Breckenridge Interiors
314-727-2323, breckenridgeinteriors.com
Before joining Breckenridge, Ms. Ertl attended Drake University, interning for Edwin Pepper Interiors during her summers home. This young designer’s already tested her mettle in a big way, assisting Diane Breckenridge on the design of Judy and Dennis Jones’ 32,000-square-foot home in Ladue (which took three years and 4,000 hours of work to complete).
Best project: The Jones home. Perfection was the goal, so the design team always searched out three or four different options—even on small details, like borders.“We did dozens of drawings of elevations of walls and hallways,” Ms. Ertl says, “and spent hundreds of hours poring over fabrics. We were trying to find such unusual and different fabrics. Because of the nature of the project, we wanted the best, the newest—and nothing we had ever used before.”
Is there a St. Louis style? “When I first started, it was very traditional. I was ruffling everything and doing bows. There’s a move toward transitional and eclectic.”
Dream job: Update the White House. She’d keep it historically accurate—but less stuffy and more contemporary.
Elke Koch
EK Interior Design
314-607-2924
Elke Koch was always interested in art history and design. Born and educated in Germany, she attended the University of Mainz, where she majored in design and business. After coming to the states, Ms. Koch found a job in Omaha and was then transferred to St. Louis. In 1984, she decorated her own home, filling it with carefully chosen antiques that lent it both drama and an Old World charm. Five years later, she parlayed her passion into a business after a friend hired her to do the interior design for a home designed by Mitchell Wall and Associates and built by Higginbotham Brothers.
Loves most about her work: “Creating tasteful, livable and fun environments for my clients with color, fabric, trim, textures and furniture that reflect how they live, how they use their space and with what they feel most comfortable, whether Old World or contemporary.”
Dream project: To design a Tuscan villa.
Resources: “I support St. Louis showrooms such as KDR. I also buy in Chicago, Dallas, Atlanta, High Point, N.C. and go to France for antiques.”
Favorite work in progress: Her family’s country estate, a half-hour outside St. Louis. “It will be constructed of recycled barn wood and stone. I’m using lots of fabrics, overstuffed chairs, log furniture with quilts and country-style accoutrements and Ralph Lauren colors.”
April Jensen
ADJ Interiors
314-805-5784
April Jensen grew up in down-to-earth Detroit and, not surprisingly, doesn’t believe in “over-decorating or over-accessorizing.” Born in St. Charles, she moved back to Missouri after meeting her husband, a St. Louis native, at Michigan State University. The couple made a short stop-off in Chicago before settling here. Ms. Jensen worked at Edwin Pepper before launching her own design business.
Best job: Learning about aviation design while decorating a private corporate jet at Edwin Pepper.
Is there a St. Louis style? “It’s evolving,” she says. “New housing is mostly stone and brick, a throwback to a European-Tuscan influence. Some are taking an extra step to add punch. For example, I’ll take taupe and cream and striate it with a very light joint compound, so it looks like tortoiseshell.”
Dream project: Refurbish historic St. Charles.
Influences: Fashion designers who have branched out into interior design, such as Michael Kors, Kate Spade and Ralph Lauren.
Joni Spear
Joni Spear Interior Design
314-614-9080
Just as conflict makes a story interesting, counterpoint peps up a room. Joni Spear understands this. She might place a steel coffee table in the same room as an antique sofa picked up at Ivey-Selkirk. The Pittsburgh native earned her interior architecture degree from Ohio University, moving to Washington, D.C., after graduation to work for a high-end fabric and furniture designer. Ms. Spear then followed her husband back to his hometown of Detroit, where she worked for a well-established design firm. After she had kids, Ms. Spear went into business for herself, but took a three-year hiatus when the family moved to St. Louis in 2000.
Design philosophy: Classic with an edge.
What she loves most about her work: “When a client’s husband scowls, ‘Why do we have to pay someone to do this?’ Then that first piece arrives or we paint that first room, and the husband is suddenly so convinced that he and his wife did the right thing.”
Dream project: “Design one of the stately historic St. Louis homes. These are classic masterpieces. I’d wake it up, zip the curtains off the windows, open up the room, breathe life into it.”
Resources: Design & Detail, Schumacher, Brunschwig & Fils, Knoll and Herman Miller. For lighting, she looks primarily to the Internet.
Andy Villasana
The Lawrence Group
314-231-5700, thelawrencegroup.com
Growing up in the Deep South, Andy Villasana developed a strong affinity for antebellum architecture. That’s why many of his interiors evoke the gilt, glamour—and comfort—of that age. “It should be an environment where the clients can have a black-tie cocktail party one night and the next night curl up in sweats and watch movies with their dog,” he says. To achieve this balance, Mr. Villasana combines a monochromatic palette with a mixture of textures, such as silk and mohair. After graduating from Mizzou with an interior design/pre-architecture degree, he got his feet wet working for Frank Patton Interiors. Then last year, he joined The Lawrence Group.
Designers he admires most: Nate Berkus (Oprah’s decorating guru) and former St. Louisan Carolyne Roehm, who first designed clothing and now is known for her lavish floral arrangements, books and website.
Most exciting project: A detailed, high-end home on the grounds of “The Club” (St. Louis Country Club).
Dream job: “I’d love to do an elegant historic boutique hotel. I’d use lots of color, contemporary artwork, Persian rugs, mohair fabrics and sea grass. The environment would be tactile and visual.”
Nicole Tosi
Fibercations
314-721-9237
Nicole Tosi has the timeless-traditional look down pat. Her passion, she says, is refurbishing and modernizing old houses in University City and Clayton. She designs with historical integrity, a philosophy that permeates her work. This Peoria, Ill., native has a fashion degree from Stephens College and worked in Chicago as a visual merchandiser. Then she shifted gears into interior design after a stint at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. After moving here to be near family and friends, she met her current boss, Fibercations head honcho Dana Romeis.
Resources: “I order pieces from all over the world—Spain, Italy, Canada and the Merchandise Mart in Chicago.”
Is there a St. Louis style? “Traditional. Our design team deals with textures and form rather than patterns and fringe.”
Loves most about her work: “It’s fun to do children’s rooms and see the reaction to things the kids think they selected.”
Margaret McDonald, LEED AP
Arcturis
314-206-7134, arcturis.com
Margaret McDonald, a Clayton native, began with a degree in art history from the University of Colorado. She went on to earn another in interior architecture from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, then studied furniture design at Parnham College in Dorset, England. After spending a cold winter in Chicago, she came home to St. Louis to work for Hellmuth, Obata + Kassabaum; her first big project there was Boeing’s Leadership Center.
Signature style: Ms. McDonald’s interiors are notable for the clever way they combine textures, architectural finishes and design concepts. In her latest projects, she’s designed clean-lined, flowing interiors, then created one-of-a-kind environments with her encyclopedic knowledge of furnishings, unique sources and passion for textiles.
Dream job: Designing a small resort on Martinique. “I’d make it a secluded, unpretentious and elegant haven with separate cabanas and houses.”
Favorite designer: David Chipperfield, who is designing the Saint Louis Art Museum addition. “I admire his range of work, minimalism and control.”
Laure Hullverson
Cortinovis & Hullverson
314-991-2779
Laure Hullverson stays busy designing rooms to the beat of her clients’ drums. “The greatest compliment is when a home doesn’t look like Cortinovis & Hullverson did it,” she says. Typically, when the duo design a home, they use fine fabrics, a blend of styles, a wide range of colors and a more traditional style. “But we’ve done it all: eclectic—using some antiques, some things the clients own, some new things; traditional; contemporary; some folk art where the look is very tailored; and a little English, French and Italian mixed in with a lot of patterns and color to create an Old World look.” Ms. Hullverson got into the business when she was decorating her own home and contacted Ann Cortinovis for tips. There was an instant rapport, and the two joined forces.
Resources: “Ann and I frequent St. Louis showrooms—Edwin Pepper, Schumacher, KDR, Design & Detail, Scalamandre, Brunschwig & Fils. Ann spends a lot of time in Paris and London. We also use resources in New York, Dallas and San Francisco.”
Favorite designers: New York–based Mariette Himes Gomez, because of her sparse, tailored style; the late Mark Hampton, also based in New York, who designed classic interiors that were never overdone or fussy; and New York City–based Diamond & Baratta, whose work is “whimsical and fun and uses great colors and patterns.”
Dan Ruderer
Dan Ruderer Designs
314-721-4444, thedesignresource.com
Dan Ruderer, a St. Louis native, combines creativity with high tech. “I’m very visual and able to draw what I see accurately. At the same time, I use a computer to figure the proportion of a product and calculate precise dimensions,” he says. The way designers use technology is critical, he adds. “We should all have websites. Mine takes you to 160 lines of furniture.” The Wash. U. fashion design major boasts a varied career, from shoe designer to shoe company exec, which has taken him around the world.
Is there a St. Louis style? “People are moving toward a clean, contemporary look,” Mr. Ruderer says. “The use of the home is changing [in ways] less conducive to the more formal or traditionally decorated rooms. We’re using family rooms, media centers and home offices.”
Design approach: “It’s based on what the consumer likes, in the same way that buying a dress is based on the figure of a woman. It’s what we have to work with and what pleases the customer.”
Biggest challenges: “Decorating for someone who is downsizing. It’s a delicate balance to freshen and not strip away their core and their history.”
Sandy Long
Sandra Long Interiors
314-520-7949
Sandy Long knows how to remake a space. It all has to do with fabrics, textures and not being afraid of color. Ms. Long’s taste is a hybrid of influences—her mother’s love of European antiques and her favorite aunt’s appreciation for modern art and furniture. She mixes and has mastered both, blending French antiques with modern art and accoutrements. She grew up in Neosho, Mo., then majored in fine arts at Missouri Southern in Joplin. She always had an eye for design, even as a child. “Some kids play with Barbie dolls. I was more interested in Barbie’s house.”
Design philosophy: Design with a finishing touch: Details finish a room.
Dream job: A Donald Trump high-rise apartment building. “I’d take good quality antiques and mix them with beautifully collected pieces of art, and very fresh and updated fabrics, such as rich silks. I’d take an antique chair and upholster it in a beautifully textured fabric.”
By Barbara Ballinger and Margaret Crane
